Ilaria Capua DVM, PhD

Dr. Ilaria Capua is currently Head of the Virology Department at Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Padova, Italy and Head of the National, FAO and OIE Reference Laboratories for Avian Influenza (AI) and Newcastle disease (ND). She has been involved in managing several AI outbreaks on a global scale, and in particular her group has supported African and MiddleEastern countries affected by the H5N1 crisis. She is currently coordinating 2 EU – funded projects, is a partner of additional 4 EU funded projects and is a WP leader in the EU Network of Excellence EPIZONE. She is currently the chairman of OFFLU the OIE/FAO veterinary network of expertise on Avian influenza. In 2006 she ignited an international debate on sharing genetic information and launched the Global Initiative on Sharing avian Influenza Data, endorsed by 70 medical and veterinary virologists and 6 Nobel laureates. In 2007 she was among the winners of the Scientific American 50 award and the Revolutionary Mind prize by Seed magazine in 2008 for leadership in policy for promoting the sharing of information at an international level.